Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-10-30

deer. meat OF dried fish and desr's-bood
soup, and slept as soundly as il were
in my bunk. In the first few days OF
December we had crossed the coast
range of mountains, sighted the To-
bacco-Eountain peak, and looked down
upon a valley surrounded by snow-clad
mountains, about fifty miles by thirty,
and not unlike beam in shape In
this valley was the deermen's home.
Their huts were like bee-bIves, and
eirheIds OF dternumbered thousands
There were perhaps fifteen hundred
people in the valley, and they owned
al the way from hundred and fifty to
three thou and head of deer apiece
Chr arrival was the signal for a general
jollifcation. It was the occasion
Of The feast OF Inpeiuia. During the
fifteen days that this feast lasted
the Tehuktcbis gave themselves
mp 70 al kinds OF feeding and sports.
They wrestlod in a catch-as-catch-can
SOFT Of Style, ate until | expected they
would sttheir sides, danced, and ran
foot and reindeer races. There was
nothing in the least like religion, aud |
never saw pIiC-t or any one perform
what YOU might call a religious cere-
mony, except when they sprinbIed
themselves with deer soup made Of
blood and fatto change thoirluck. When
they do this they SO out of doors and
turn 10 the East, each member of the
family doing Il in turn.
Being pressed to give some further
details of the customs Of the people,
Vincent said that reindeer blood APP
peored to be looked upon by them as
symbol Of al that is good and nourish
iUg, as well rs life-g'viHg. 1t enters
into al their domestic customs. Thus
when a girl is married or besrothtd
fmudCe of deer blood IS made from her
lips TO her ears, and the groom is SINH
larly bedaubed. Blood is the sum to-
tai Of their pharmacoppia, and in vary
ing doses is prescribed for sickness Of
al kinds, though they appeared to need
but little physic.
Referring TO the children, Vincent
continued : They call them by some
physical peculiarly, just like the
Indians in this country, There was a
nice little girl they called Cbic-Chua,
because she was round-shOuldered the
mems names often convey an idea Of
skill or strength The girls at five or
six years of aSe are taught to sew deer
skins and TO make thread, and they
soon learn that they have got to do
oil the work, and that the boy is
the boss. He is TAUGHT when he is
eight years old TO use lasso and
to fish When man dies his hody is
burned. As coon az the breath has
passed out of his body the women wal
for few minutes in chorus, and then
wrap him up in snow-white deer skins.
Re IS then placed on a sled drawn by
bis best deer team and is driven out Of
the camp with the reins III his stiff fin
gers to q place where the men have
gathered foggots for fire. The deer
ave ih Ick TO the heart with knife at
orc blow, ana the sled with its lifelegs
borden and the deer are all placed
on the wood which is then
LIGHTED. The men so away and
leave the fire in charge of an at
tendant who gees that everything is
consumed. The dead mans house is
closed for week, and every night for
that time the faces Of the entire family
are smudGed with ashes and blood from
mouth to ears The families are always
small, not more than two or at most
four children being the usual number.
In the way Of music they beat tdm
tum or drru made of deer-skin
stretched over hoop about
two feet across, and sing to
the tattoo in screechiDg or
bowling way which is painful
to listen to. They have no coin and
all their trading is done by the oil
IaItering methods IN which they swap
q sheath knife for dec and piece OF
linen is valued at two deer. The IDEAS
Of tine e~e very vague, counting
twelve moons to the year, and s, find
that they have few weeks over. The
weather is bad except in March and
IN winter, Of course, the
cold is excessive, and in summer it is
quite hot, with thick heavy fogl
| stayed, continued Vincent, the first
time, about four months with these
people. They treated me We y kindly
indeed, and looked u~on me as ore of
old L -tou-rat's family. They Intended
that should cross the Trade noun
iains and go to the Auadir river, which
flows on the west side Of the Trade
but they learned that the
would be impossible, and
so determined in March, 1886, to take
me back to the coast where they had
found me. My feelings were mixed. l
had got to like my companions, and yeti
was anxious to get home, and when
ever | thought Of that my heart fell, as
hey had given me to understand that
my chances Of being picked up were
better by going across the mountains
10 the trading-post than by returning
10 the lagoon, near which | and my
three companions had landed in June,
1885. Old U-tourat accompanied me |
with the train of sleds, Just as l had
seen him arrive. Ny companions |
fodnd in very low state. and before l !
bad been long at the lagoon they all
hree died. / waited, and watched. and
hoped for vessel to heave in sight, |
but it never came, and the |
leermen bad their fish all pack
"a, and the LIST of September had |
come, and my only choice was to stay |
At the lagoon or return to the valley |
one more. l chote the latter, and in |
December was again amongst the huts
n the shaped valley. Hardly had |
he train arrived home when the old |
nan who had so befriended me died, |
that he had been unable to |
AIRY ont his intentions OF returning |
ne to my countrymen and confding |
ne TO the care of his son Katilkot.
&c was a bright, clever man, and in
January Of this year got up party OF
welve sleds and in three days
lrove me over the Trade noun
rains to the Russian trading-posS on
he Anadir river, distance Of 140
niles. The post was about 100 miles
rom the rivers mouth, and dirty
,lace in charge of dirty half-breed
rchuktchis. However, / met some
leermen from Cape Behring, and
arriving my name on piece OF wood
ut ont also the name of the ship / be-
onged to and asked any countrymen
pto xrbosa hand tho hoard might foil |